Turns out it wasn’t that bad, and that wasn’t the first surprise the Arctis Prime had in store. For the sake of testing, I sacrificed myself. The idea of putting anything on my head when it was so hot outside felt like certain death.īut I did it. Sweating, I put the headset on my coffee table and regarded it as if it were a snake, coiled, venomous, and poised to strike me dead. We are not a people prepared for triple-digit weather. Like everyone west of the Cascades, I live in a cabin in the woods with a closet full of flannels and jeans, and a larder full of triple IPAs and craft coffee. The Prime arrived during the throes of an unprecedented and apocalyptic heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest.

For just $100, it has the design chops of its more expensive cousin, plus audio drivers that compete with more luxurious headsets. That’s why I was so stoked when I got my hands on the Arctis Prime. It feels super comfy on your head, even when you’re neck-deep in alien blood during a raid in Destiny 2, and it renders audio with such clarity that it transforms any gaming experience by drawing you right into the action. The SteelSeries Arctis Pro is the holy grail of gaming headsets.

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